Money managers continued as net sellers of dollars for the fifth week in a row according to data from the CFTC covering the end of trading on August 21, which was one day ahead of the release of the dovish Federal Open Market Committee minutes from the US Federal Reserve. The aggregate dollar position versus the eight IMM currency futures tracked in this report turned slightly negative for the first time in 11 months. This ended the longest period of continued long dollar positioning since this record of data began in 1999.
Highlights:
* All currencies were bought apart from JPY
* AUD and CAD net longs rose by 20.2k and 22.3k contracts bringing gross longs on both up to or close to extreme levels on a historic perspective.
* EUR net short now at the lowest level since early May but still quite extended with investors still holding on to an overall negative outlook for EUR despite the recent recovery.
* CHF buying continues on a small scale but it nevertheless must be raising eyebrows at the Swiss National Bank as investors continue to question whether the EUR 1.2000 will hold.
* GBP net positioning turned net positive for the first time in almost three months
Please click here for the full report: FX CFTC_082712
Ole Hansen,
SAXO BANK